The 21st China International Cartoon and Animation Festival (CICAF) opened on Thursday in Hangzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province, launching a five-day celebration featuring top Chinese cultural IPs and the fusion of animation and technology.
The CICAF, now in its 21st year, has become one of the country's largest and most influential animation showcases, attracting over 18 million visitors and 21,000 companies from around the world to date.
With lifelike displays, themed cosplays, collectibles of big-hit Chinese-designed characters, and cutting-edge exhibits, such as AI-generated animation, VR, and exoskeleton robots, this year's edition offers global participants unique and immersive experiences, and also presents China's soft power.
"Many global IPs need coordination on my part. I try to consider their brand identities, and aim to match today's youth culture with simple, chibi-style designs. When young people buy clothing from brands I partnered with, they will get a blind box, so they can have fun drawing by themselves," said Winson Ma, an art toy designer from Hong Kong, whose workshop Winson Classic Creation has already garnered a world reputation.
The 2025 CICAF has also set up a special "tech zone" for visitors to experience AI, VR, and AR equipment, which helps to bring their most-loved stories to life.
In the AR combat arena, participants can experience an immersive 3D scene with only a pair of glasses. The AR game, based on the Chinese classic Creation of Gods, provides gamers a chance to be a part of the old mythology and fight their own battles.
The zone also involves a stall showcasing AI technology, where people can learn about the latest AI-power CG animation and generate animated characters of themselves with AI.
"Previously, producing a 30-second CG animation might take a team of seven people and an entire month. Now, with our AI-driven workflows, just three people can complete it in two weeks. Over the past year, AI-generated characters and storyline coherences have seen dramatic improvements. Viewers now have more choices and are showing a high level of acceptance," said Sun Jian, president of Nashi Culture.
Cartoon, animation festival in east China's Hangzhou presents Chinese IPs, technologies
Commemorations honoring Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs were held on the banks of the Yalu River in Dandong, Liaoning Province on Tuesday as part of ongoing tributes to those who fought in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).
The event was held to mark the return of the remains of 12 CPV martyrs, who were killed in the war, from the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday.
This will be the 13th such repatriation of CPV remains following the handover agreement between the two countries. Since 2014, the remains of 1,011 soldiers have been returned to China from the ROK, according to China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs.
More than 170 representatives, including veteran CPV soldiers, relatives of the martyrs, active-duty personnel, students, and other from various sectors of society, attended the event.
People boarded a ferry which slowly sailed down the Yalu River. Inside the cabin, all present stood in solemn silence as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China was played, and observed a moment of silence in honor of the CPV martyrs.
Then, they walked to the ship's railings one by one and scattered flower petals into the river to pay tribute to the martyrs.
"We, the CPV, went abroad to fight to defend our motherland, the people, and our good life and to resist U.S. imperialist aggression against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). I hope that our young comrades and students today will study hard and make contributions to our motherland," said Hu Changzhe, a CPV veteran.
"I feel deeply moved as these veteran soldiers are heroes who once fought for our country. Now, standing by the Yalu River, looking back on their past and remembering their comrades, they must be deeply touched," said Hong Jialu, a student at a branch of Liaoning Province Shiyan High School.
At the event, 10 student representatives from primary and middle schools read aloud a letter to express their reverence and remembrance for the heroic martyrs through their sincere words and heartfelt recitation.
The Korean War broke out in June 1950, eight months after the People's Republic of China was founded. At the request of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China sent 2.9 million CPV soldiers to assist the DPRK during the war, of whom more than 360,000 were killed or injured.
Commemorations held to pay tribute to CPV heroes in northeast China
